Chef Monnipa Rungthong tears and crushes the pandan leaves in her hands before dropping them into a saucepan of coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Bruising the leaves helps release the flavor and aroma, she informs us; and sure enough the unmistakeable sweet, nutty fragrance of pandan wafts into the air. She will use the coconut milk mixture to make one of the most iconic dishes in Thai cooking—Khao Nhiew Ma-Muang or Sticky Rice with Mango. But her style includes a few things not commonly seen in the usual recipes. She adds some buko (young coconut) water to her coconut milk, and mixes strips of the tender buko flesh into her sticky rice. Lastly, she uses Tian Op, a traditional scented beeswax candle, specifically designed to perfume desserts and sweets. The u-shaped Tian Op is lit, and the smoke is used to perfume food—in this case the sticky rice—leaving a musky, slightly smoky, burnt caramel flavor. The result is the best version of sticky rice with mangoes that I’ve ever had!

Khao Nhiew Ma-Muang or Sticky Rice with Mango | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

Chef Ying, as she is usually known, is the Chef de Cuisine of The Peninsula Bangkok’s Thiptara Restaurant, and she is visiting the The Peninsula Manila for a special four-course dinner on May 30, 2025. The dinner will showcase the traditional Thai food she learned by assisting her mother in the kitchen, combined with skills she honed by working in kitchens around the world. During her stay in Manila, she will also be consulting with the chefs of Spices at the Peninsula Manila to add new dishes to their current Thai menu. 

Chef Monnipa Rungthong, also called Chef Ying | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

During a special media preview of the menu, she demonstrated a few of the dishes she would be serving, peppering her instructions with tips and culinary wisdom that sounded just like something a mother would say. While cooking one of the main course choices, Nua Yang Jim Jeaw or Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Thai Dipping Sauce, she pointed out to us that we should buy Thai fish sauce that looks clear and not cloudy. She also said that once opened, the fish sauce should be stored in the refrigerator to maintain its flavor and quality. The beef is marinated in fish sauce and a mixture of herbs like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, and two kinds of roasted and ground rice. The same mixture also coats the beef on all sides when it is sauteed to medium rare, and is added to the tamarind, fish sauce, and lime dipping sauce to add texture. When everything is plated up with slices of the beef piled on top of mixed greens and herbs, and the dipping sauce on the side, it’s a melange of Thai cuisine’s four main tastes— sour, salty, sweet, and spicy—beautifully balanced so that each mouthful contains the fresh flavors of basil and spring onions, the sweet-salty-sour-spicy-funky play of flavors of the dipping sauce, crunch from the fried shallots, and the interplay of cold salad with warm, smoky beef. Chef Ying advised those who want more heat to just add chopped chilis.

Nua Yang Jim Jeaw Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Thai Dipping Sauce | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

She also prepared Pla Tod Yum Mamuang or Crispy Sea Bass with Green Mango Salad. While the flavors of the beef dish were balanced, for the fish, sour was highlighted. Slices of sea bass were seasoned with fish sauce, dredged in tempura flour, and deep fried. The fish was served on a salad of green mangos, mint leaves, Thai coriander, lime, chili, garlic, and cashew nuts dressed with a tamarind and chili paste sauce. The sharp sourness of green mangoes, the more mellow and fruity sourness of tamarind tempered with coconut milk, and the spicy notes of chili paste made our mouths water and crave for just one more bite. It will be the perfect first course for Chef Ying’s special dinner on May 30. 

Pla Tod Yum Mamuang or Crispy Sea Bass with Green Mango Salad | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

In an article in Tasting Kitchen, Chef Ying explains how every dish in Thai cuisine incorporates, if not all four, at least two of the main tastes. As with the sea bass, sometimes one flavor is dominant, but the others will still be there in the background. That’s also the case in a completely delicious Khao Soi Gai Yang or Northern Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup that will be served as an alternate main course on May 30. It’s spicy and a little salty, with the complex layers of a curry that combines elements of a Thai curry paste with Muslim-influenced massaman curry pastes mellowed by rich coconut milk and shrimp paste. Fresh lime and more chili paste are served on the side for diners to adjust the taste to their liking (a little lime juice balances the richness). Unlike most versions that braise chunks of chicken in the soup, Chef Ying grills the chicken before laying slices on the soup, adding an additional layer of smokiness. Served in a generous bowl with thin egg noodles, it’s a deeply satisfying, slurp-worthy dish. Make sure to immerse the accompanying fried noodles into the soup for crunch, and dig to the bottlom where there will be surprising bits of some kind of pickled vegetable. 

Khao Soi Gai Yang or Northern Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

For lovers of Thai food the May 30 “Flavors of the White Elephant Kingdom” dinner curated by Chef Ying is not to be missed. Each dish evokes the warmth and depth of traditional Thai home cooking, which is rarely seen outside of private homes these days.

The menu on May 30, 2025 | Photo: The Peninsula Manila

The Flavors of the White Elephant Kingdom Degustation Dinner happens on May 30, 2025, 6:00 PM at Spices, The Peninsula Manila. Php3,500++ per person. For reservations, call +63 2 88872888 ext. 6694, email diningPMN@peninsula.com, or visit peninsula.com. Follow @thepeninsulamanila on Instagram and Facebook for updates.